Department for Transport

Biofuels

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage the increased use of bio-diesel made from used cooking oil.

baroness sugg: Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) biofuels reported as being made from waste have risen from 12 per cent of total biofuel supply in the first year of the obligation 2008/09, to 66 per cent in 2017/18. In 2017/18 the most widely reported source for biodiesel, by feedstock and country of origin, remained used cooking oil from the UK. (Biofuels Statistics obligation year 10 2017/18 - Report 6). Last year the Government introduced changes to the RTFO which will almost double the use of renewable fuels from 2018 to 2020. Bio-diesel made from used cooking oil remains eligible for double rewards under the scheme, and will benefit from the increased market for renewable fuels.

Motor Vehicles: Insurance

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to raise public awareness that (1) drivers travelling in the EU after 29 March may need to obtain a Green Card from their insurers before departure, and (2) those using trailers may need toask the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency whether they need to register their trailer, and ask their insurers whether they need to obtain a separate Green Card for that trailer.

baroness sugg: The Government has provided guidance to motorists travelling in the EU after 29 March through various channels. The technical notice ‘Vehicle Insurance if there’s no Brexit Deal’ was published in September 2018. It outlines that, in the event of ‘no deal’ and the European Commission not taking a decision to allow the UK to remain in the Green Card-free area, drivers of UK registered vehicles will need to carry a motor insurance Green Card when driving in the EU and EEA. The guidance also encourages UK registered drivers towing a trailer to contact their insurer to obtain two Green Cards, one for their trailer and one for their towing vehicle. Guidance has also been published on trailer registration. UK motorists must register commercial trailers weighing over 750kg and non-commercial trailers weighing over 3,500kg before they can travel to or through most EU and EEA countries. UK motorists can also voluntarily register non-commercial trailers that weigh over 750kg. The Government issued new communications in February 2019, which echoed the guidance in the technical notice. The campaign is live with radio, digital ads and social media directing citizens to gov.uk. We continue to work constructively with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, the Association of British Insurers and the rest of the insurance industry to ensure motorists are aware of these messages and are prepared for a ‘no deal’ scenario. On motor insurance, our intention is to remain part of the Green Card-free circulation area as the UK will continue to meet all of the requirements when we leave the EU. This would allow UK drivers to continue to be able to drive in EU Member States without the need for a Green Card. We continue to urge the Commission to issue a decision on the UK’s membership in the Green Card-free circulation zone.

Eurostar

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of disruption to Eurostar rail services in the event of a disorderly Brexit.

baroness sugg: We have been in continuous dialogue with Eurostar throughout our EU Exit planning. This has included supporting Eurostar with its contingency planning to ensure that its important cross-channel services continue to operate effectively if the United Kingdom leaves the EU without a deal. We are confident of having appropriate arrangements in place to ensure the continued smooth functioning of services.

Railways: Yeovil

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of passenger demand for later evening trains between Waterloo and Yeovil on Mondays to Saturdays.

baroness sugg: The franchisee (SWR) is expected to plan its train service to meet forecast demand in accordance with its obligations under its franchise agreement. The franchise agreement sets a minimum train service specification that is required to be met and forms the basis for the timetable. Timetable bids for later trains than currently operate would be assessed by Network Rail against factors such as the access that they require to undertake routine planned infrastructure maintenance activities, for example.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Motor Vehicles: Import Duties

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the impact that no-deal Brexit tariff plans could have on possible price rises in the UK automotive sector.

lord henley: If the UK leaves the EU on 29th March without a deal, the UK would implement a temporary tariff regime. This would apply for up to 12 months while a full consultation, and review on a permanent approach, is undertaken. Tariffs will apply to a number of categories of finished vehicles due to the importance of the sector and broader challenging market conditions. BEIS Ministers and officials regularly engage with the automotive industry, including bilaterals with manufacturers, interactions via trade associations, and through BEIS’s participation in the Automotive Council. This insight supports policy development within BEIS and work with other Departments. Leaving the EU with a deal that supports the future of British industry remains the government’s top priority. As set out in the Political Declaration, the UK and the EU have agreed on a free trade area for goods, including automotive. This would combine deep regulatory and customs cooperation with no tariffs and no quotas, underpinned by provisions ensuring open and fair competition.

Business: Investment

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of a forecast by the British Chambers of Commerce that there may be a decline in business investment this year as a result of Brexit uncertainty.

lord henley: The Government continues to communicate with businesses as we prepare to leave the European Union. This includes close engagement with business representative organisations such as the British Chambers of Commerce. Through our ambitious Industrial Strategy, the Government is fostering a competitive environment where businesses have the confidence to invest and thrive. We are forging long term strategic partnerships with businesses through our Sector Deals and have committed £37bn through the National Productivity Investment Fund by 2023/24, supporting investment in transport, housing and digital infrastructure. The Government is also facilitating investment of £20bn in high potential businesses, including the establishment of the £2.5bn British Patient Capital programme.

Company Voluntary Arrangements

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to assess whether Company Voluntary Arrangements effectively protect the economic interests of HMRC, and those of creditors and property owners.

lord henley: Company voluntary arrangements are a valuable part of the restructuring framework and the Government does not intend to conduct a review of them at this time. A company voluntary arrangement allows a financially distressed company to restructure its debts and avoid liquidation or administration. Approval of more than 75% of creditors is required to pass a company voluntary arrangement and any creditor may still apply to court if it feels its interests are being unfairly prejudiced, this provides an important safeguard for creditors, including HMRC and property owners.

Service Industries: Productivity

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking toimprove productivity growth in the retail and hospitality sectors.

lord henley: Latest figures for Q3 2018 show that labour productivity per hour in the Retail Sector has increased by 6.3% since the third quarter of 2017 and 14.0% on the third quarter of 2010. Raising productivity is one of the Government’s key priorities and core to the UK’s Industrial Strategy. This department is currently undertaking a review of the actions that could be most effective in improving the productivity and growth of small and medium-sized businesses in all sectors. Further, the Government has been working very closely with the Retail Sector through the industry led Retail Sector Council which was established a year ago and has recently agreed its priority workstreams for the next two years. The council was established to bring Government and industry together to boost the sector’s productivity, and the priority areas were selected by the industry and each workstream will be led by a senior industry figure. The workstreams are; costs to business, skills and lifelong learning, employment, consumer protection, the circular economy and the Industrial Strategy.

Multinational Companies: Competition

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ensure that UK competition law remains closely aligned with EU rules in relation to large companies after Brexit; and if not, what steps they are taking to introduce effective regulation to ensure competition, particularly in relation to multinational technology companies.

lord henley: The UK has a strong and well-established system of competition law and enforcement. This will not change after exit. Our regime is similar to the EU’s and significant future divergence is unlikely to occur. In addition, the Government will respond later in the year to the Furman review of competition in the digital economy.

Department for Education

Shops: Publications

lord bird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to promote and support bookshops to improve levels of literacy.

lord agnew of oulton: The department does not have any policies that specifically target bookshops. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has set an ambition to halve the proportion of children who finish reception without the language and literacy skills needed to thrive by 2028. As part of this, we will be launching a public-facing campaign later this year to improve the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions and make it easy for parents to chat, play and read with their children. This includes working closely with the National Literacy Trust, businesses and libraries to improve access to books.In partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation, we are also investing over £4 million to home learning environment trials in the north of England. The trials range from an intensive home visiting programme aimed at improving early literacy, to a texting initiative intended to nudge parents to do more activities that help develop literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills.As part of the £26.3 million English hubs programme, participating schools will also receive support to improve teaching of English as an additional language phonics and to ensure children have access to decodable books for the early stages of reading.

Ministry of Justice

Mentally Disordered Offenders

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce psychiatric alternatives to prison, and other forms of sentences, for persons who have committed a crime because of their mental health condition; and if so, how.

lord keen of elie: Liaison & Diversion services place clinical staff at police stations and courts to provide assessments and referrals to treatment and support. They are currently operating across 90% of England, with full roll out expected by 2020-21. For cases of severe mental illness, the Mental Health Act 1983 provides powers to divert an individual to hospital during the trial or at the point of sentencing. The Government commissioned an independent review of the Mental Health Act and welcomes the review’s findings (reported on 6 December 2018), to which we will respond in due course. Jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and Public Health England, we have developed a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement ‘Protocol’ to improve access to mental health and substance misuse services for offenders who need them. NHS England’s Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, includes a commitment to expand current provision of the CSTR programme.Sentencing decisions are a matter for our independent judiciary. The Government welcomes the independent Sentencing Council’s intention to develop an Overarching Principles: Mental Health Guideline and the Crown Prosecution Service public consultation (launched on 12 March) on revisions to guidance on the prosecution of individuals with mental health conditions or disorders.

Community Orders

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government why there has been a decline in community service sentences; and how they intend to reverse this decline.

lord keen of elie: The proportion of offenders receiving a community sentence has gone down steadily since 2008 decreasing from 190,593 in the year ending September 2008 to 90,618 in the year ending September 2018. The decline in community sentences is in part due to the overall number of defendants sentenced falling by 14% (and falling by 35% for indictable offences) over the same period. There has also been a drop in the number of defendants coming to court, and the mix of offences has changed.Sentencing decisions in individual cases are taken by our independent courts having regard to sentencing guidelines; the Sentencing Council has issued guidelines, which came into force in 2017, on the imposition of community and custodial sentences, to assist courts in deciding when a community sentence should be imposed. As part of our proposals for improving probation services we are considering how to improve the information that judges and magistrates get from probation services on the community sentences they deliver. We are also developing proposals to improve the quality of rehabilitative support offered by probation in the community and of pre-sentence advice to court, so that courts can better tailor community sentences to offenders’ rehabilitative needs.

Prison Sentences

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what they are doing to address sentence inflation following the average increase of three months over the past six years.

lord keen of elie: Sentencing is a matter for our independent courts, which take into account the circumstances of each case, including any aggravating and mitigating factors. We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime and we will always hold in prison those criminals whose offences are so grave that no other penalty will suffice.

Offenders: Females

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of femaleoffenders who have experienced traumas such as domestic and sexual abuse; and what steps they intend to take to prevent the victims of such experiences from committing crimes.

lord keen of elie: The Female Offender Strategy, published in June 2018, recognised the impact that trauma can have on female offending. We know that almost 60% of female offenders have experienced domestic abuse. It was also found in a 2005/6 prisoner survey that female prisoners who report having experienced abuse as a child are more likely to report suffering sexual abuse (67%) than male prisoners who have experienced abuse (24%). A key theme in our Female Offender Strategy, is the need for a joined-up and holistic approach to addressing the often-complex needs of female offenders, such as those provided by the multi-agency, Whole System Approach models. As part of the Strategy, we have invested £5m in community provision to support female offenders. This included £2 million to support female offenders who have experienced domestic abuse. In the Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, we consider the experience of female offenders and have committed to developing a victim’s pathway for female offenders in England. In Wales, we will also use trauma-informed approaches to support female offenders who are also victims and consider how we can intervene early for women who disclose they are victims of domestic abuse at the first point of contact with the justice system.

Reoffenders

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what work they have done to look at offending behaviours and the reasons behind the cycle of crime and reoffending rates.

lord keen of elie: We use data and evidence to understand why people offend and to design services to reduce reoffending. We regularly review UK and international evidence to understand the drivers of offending and evaluate the interventions and services that are effective in leading people away from crime. Evaluations of our rehabilitative initiatives such as offending behaviour programmes and education and employment services, show that they can reduce reoffending. Evaluations of our general offending behaviour programmes show that they can reduce reoffending by between 8 and 14 percentage points. Likewise, services to help get people back in to employment and prisoner learning have also shown a reduction of 6-9 percentage points on reoffending. We also know that offending behaviour programmes work best when they are targeted according to a person’s risk of reoffending, the areas they need to address to stop offending and when the approach is adapted to their individual circumstances – for example where an offender has learning disabilities.

Ministry of Defence

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of cuts to the defence budget on projects to upgrade armoured vehicles in the UK armed forces.

earl howe: The Government is committed to increase the defence budget by at least 0.5% above inflation in every year of this Parliament. The MOD has a £38 billion core defence budget which will rise to almost £40 billion by 2020/21. Following the October 2018 budget announcement Defence will now benefit from an additional £1 billion for this year and next. The extra £1 billion for defence, on top of the £800 million increase announced in March 2018, represents a substantial financial boost for Defence and reaffirms our commitment to protecting national security and allows us to invest in priorities.We will maintain the overall size of the Armed Forces, including an Army that is capable of fielding a war-fighting division. We are committed to spending over £186 billion on equipment and equipment support between 2018 and 2028. Army Command plan to spend around £30.2 billion on the Army's Equipment over the next decade in comparison to £29 billion at the end of the previous planning cycle. This includes upgrading our Armoured Vehicles.

Home Office

Fire and Rescue Services: Training

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that firefighters are adequately trained to tackle fires inthe cladding of buildings.

baroness williams of trafford: Fire and rescue authorities are responsible for ensuring that firefighters are adequately trained and equipped.The government has established a new, independently chaired Fire Standards Board to oversee the development of professional standards for fire and rescue services in England, which we would expect to include standards of training.

Immigration: Islamic State

lord empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a returning ISIS fighter from Syria, who is an Irish citizen, will be allowed to enter, settle and work in the UK under Common Travel Area rules.

baroness williams of trafford: The UK has robust policies in place to exclude those whose behaviour is non-conducive to the public good in the UK. The Home Secretary has the power to exclude non-British nationals from the UK if he believes they represent a serious threat to our society. Exclusion decisions are taken on a case-by-case basis by Ministers.Irish citizens have long held a status in the UK as part of the Common Travel Area (CTA) arrangements, reflecting the close ties between the UK and Ireland. These arrangements, which mean Irish citizens can live, work, study and access benefits and services in the UK without being subject to a requirement to obtain leave to enter or remain, do not prevent an Irish citizen from being excluded or deported from the UK.The UK’s approach since 2007 has been to only consider Irish citizens for deportation where a criminal court has recommended deportation or conviction or where the Secretary of State concludes that due to the exceptional circumstances of the case the public interest requires deportation. This approach is to be maintained.

Informers: Children

baroness jones of moulsecoomb: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 11 March (HL13990),whether the inspection teams covering juveniles as covert human intelligence sources also examine how policy is set regarding (1) payments to, (2) inducementof, and (3) frequency of use of, each juvenile.

baroness williams of trafford: The scope and terms of any inspection is a matter for the Investigatory Powers Commissioner as an independent statutory authority, but we have consulted with IPCO who have confirmed that their inspections do address the matters to which the Noble Lady refers.

Children: Crime Prevention

the earl of listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on the recruitment of male mentors for boys and young men growing up without a father in the home in areas of high incidence of knife crime or gang membership.

the earl of listowel: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they havemade of the number of male mentors needed to befriend and support boys and young men growing up without a father in the home in areas with high prevalence of knife crime or gang membership.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government’s Serious Violence Strategy sets out our analysis of the drivers of serious violence and risk factors of involvement in violent crime. There are a range of complex factors behind the recent increases in serious violence, and the analysis in the strategy sets out that a major factor has been changes in the drugs market. The strategy also sets out the key risk factors which may mean a young person may have a greater propensity to get involved in crime than would otherwise be the case such as school absence, peer pressure and family circumstances.We are supporting a range of locally led community projects through the anti-knife crime Community Fund and Early Intervention Youth Fund to intervene early with young people at risk of criminal involvement, gang exploitation and county lines. While no specific assessment of numbers have been made, a number of these projects make use of male mentors who are able to gain the trust of young people and who are more likely to convey the right messages in appropriate ways to deter young people from making the wrong choices.We are also introducing a new £200 million Youth Endowment Fund, to be delivered over 10 years to support further interventions in this area to steer young people away from becoming serious offenders. We are also piloting a new community advocate programme within priority areas in London and Manchester to help equip trusted adults with advice and messages to support and signpost young people who can be hard to reach in having #knifefree conversations.

CCTV

lord selkirk of douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of using CCTV in detecting, preventing and deterring the incidence of violent crime with weapons in built-up areas.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government fully supports the use of CCTV as a tool in helping to deter violence and other criminal activity and to assist in the investigation of crimes and the prosecution of offenders.We have not undertaken any specific assessment in relation to knife crime and other violent crimes involving weapons, but we do not underestimate the contribution that CCTV can play alongside other investigative tools.

Department for Exiting the European Union

European Parliament Members

baroness mcintosh of pickering: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will ask the EU Council of Ministers to consider (1) extending the mandate of current UK MEPs beyond the end of June for the length of the implementation period, and (2) the possibility of UK MEPs having Observer Status for that period;and whether they have given anyconsideration to appointing MEPs for a mandate of two years from 30 June.

lord callanan: Once the UK leaves the EU we will no longer have elected representatives in the European Parliament. Any extension of MEP’s mandate would not be in line with the EU Treaties.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Data Protection: EU Law

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent breaches of EU data protection rules by advertising companies on public sector websites; and what steps they are taking to ensure companies adhere to online data compliance legislation in the UK.

lord ashton of hyde: We take the protection and privacy of personal data extremely seriously. The Data Protection Act 2018 and the GDPR is in place to ensure that organisations, including the biggest advertising companies, who collect and use data do so lawfully and transparently. Organisations which fail to comply with the new legislation may be investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO is working with the advertising industry to improve compliance with the law. The ICO recently held a Fact Finding Forum, designed to better understand the key data protection issues around adtech and have published the following blogs in relation to this work. More information can be found here:https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/blog-advancing-the-adtech-debate-from-a-data-protection-perspective/ and here https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/blog-adtech-fact-finding-forum-shows-consensus-on-need-for-change/

Social Media: Taxation

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a tax on social media companies to help fund research and public guidance information about online safety.

lord ashton of hyde: We intend to publish the Online Harms White Paper in the coming weeks, which will set out the responsibilities for online platforms to tackle online harms, including their role in relation to research and education.

Women and Equalities

Equal Pay

baroness brady: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the gender pay gap; when they estimate that gap to close; and what steps they are taking to hasten the closure of that gap.

baroness williams of trafford: The rate at which the gender pay gap will narrow is dependent on a large number of complex factors but this government is working hard to help employers close the gap as soon as possible. Whilst we are pleased that the gap is at a record low of 17.9%, having dropped by 9.6 percentage points since 1997, there is more to do to ensure this progress continues.In 2017 we introduced ground-breaking regulations requiring large employers to publish their gender pay gaps annually. We are now supporting employers to develop action plans and take effective steps to reduce their gaps.The government is also:- Spending around £6billion in 2019-20 on childcare support and we have already doubled the childcare entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds.- Set up a taskforce to make flexible working a possibility for all employees; and last year ran a £1.5million campaign promoting Shared Parental Leave.- Supporting the Hampton-Alexander Review, aiming to get more women into senior leadership positions and improve gender diversity in the executive pipeline.Taking steps to break down gender stereotypes, including funding programmes in schools and colleges to encourage more girls to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.